Deliberations begin in Bangor fatal wreck trial

Monday

Dec 10, 2012 at 7:09 PM

While his attorney maintained John P. Heaney III was suffering from a medical condition in a double-fatal crash in July 2010, the prosecution insisted today that his behavior that day was the result of recklessness and negligence.

SARAH M. WOJCIK

While his attorney maintained John P. Heaney III was suffering from a medical condition in a double-fatal crash in July 2010, the prosecution insisted today that his behavior that day was the result of recklessness and negligence.

Closing arguments in Heaney’s trial came this afternoon following one last doctor’s testimony, which had been recorded at a previous date. Dr. Mitchell Roslin, a prosecution witness, spoke of his expertise in the subject of hypoglycemic issues following gastric bypass surgery. He said he didn’t believe that’s what happened to Heaney on July 1, 2010.

“He is different and it’s going to have a different impact,” Roslin said of the alcohol Heaney ingested that day. “I believe alcohol was more of a factor than hypoglycemia seeing as he left a bar and not a bakery before the accident.”

He called the likelihood of such a severe episode of low blood sugar to disable Heaney that day as “exceedingly rare to nonexistent" considering Heaney's previous medical history.

Heaney, a former Plainfield, N.J., police officer from Lopatcong Township, was driving north on Route 512 near the Bangor border when he collided with a caravan of motorcyclists from the Last Chance Motorcycle Club, a group committed to sobriety. The collision instantly killed riders Keith Michaelson, 52, and Micahel Zadoyko, 47. Four others were injured in the crash.

Judge Paula Roscioli this afternoon instructed jurors on the charges they must evaluate. Deliberations lasted into the night without a decision.

Earlier in the day, Heaney had been fishing and drank about 24 ounces of beer during lunch. He later stopped at Jacksonian Democratic Club in Bangor after feeling ill and consumed a few more drinks totaling about two ounces more of vodka. The collision occurred only three minutes after leaving the club.

Heaney’s attorney, Dennis Charles, said in closing arguments that the prosecution in the case failed to establish that the 50-year-old was drunk when he plowed into the motorcyclists. Instead, Charles told the jury, his client suffered a severe hypoglycemic attack set on by low blood sugar.

Heaney had gastric bypass surgery in April 2008 and was susceptible to hypoglycemia since, doctors testified. Charles argued that his client was a man of strong character who didn’t drink much and would never have gotten behind the wheel drunk.

“He’s honest and he’s law-abiding. He’s sober. And he’s worth saving,” Charles told the jury during closing arguments. “He’s an innocent victim in this case. They all were.”

The same surgery Charles worked to explain the crash is being used by the prosecution to explain why a small amount of alcohol could have impaired Heaney.

Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Bill Blake walked the jury through testimony about Heaney’s field sobriety test and video that showed him straying from walking a straight line. He said Heaney began to perform the tests for medics before being asked because he knew what was suspected.

Blake said Heaney failed to, at first, tell authorities he’d come directly from a bar. He also failed to tell anyone about fainting right before the crash or, Blake said, that he awoke to being assaulted. The story about who veered into whom was also inconsistent, Blake said, and Heaney declined to provide a blood sample at the DUI Center.

“He’s changing his story because he knows he’s guilty,” Blake said.

The courtroom today was full of family and friends of the motorcyclists killed that day — including many members of the Last Chance Motorcycle Club — who dabbed their eyes during some of the arguments. Women in the front row visibly shifted in their seats when Blake mentioned the names of Michaelson, of West Milford, N.J., and Zadoyko, of Pompton Lakes, N.J.

Even if alcohol was not the cause of the crash, Blake said Heaney knew about his blood sugar issues and was negligent the day of the crash.

“He should have known that under those conditions, he was going to kill somebody or seriously hurt somebody,” Blake said. “And guess what? He did both.”